Babson Park, Fl. August 18, 2023– On June 22, 2023, twelve FBLA students accompanied by their advisor, Dr. Joanne Muniz, Associate Professor & Chair, Accounting and Honors Program Director, traveled to Atlanta to attend the FBLA Collegiate National Leadership Conference (NLC).
This annual NLC conference is the culmination of the hard work of Webber’s students who competed at the District and State levels to earn their place at Nationals. This year’s NLC brought FBLA collegiate students together from across the US and Puerto Rico to work on polishing their professional and personal skills as they work their way through their academic careers with the destination of furthering their education, becoming employed, or starting their own businesses. Students attending the four-day conference had opportunities to have their resumes reviewed by top industry human resource professionals, have professional headshots taken, and attend a networking reception with FBLA alumni, national officers, and board members. They also heard from CLA’s (CliftonLarsonAllen) Chief Executive Officer Jen Leary and Chief Culture Officer Cathy Clarke as they shared their insights on professional success and obstacles faced by today’s business professionals. They also had the opportunity to attend any number of 69 workshops which were designed to help students navigate their career paths and improve their mental health, for example. Beyond the self-awareness and professional information presented to this year’s attendees, students also competed in over 50 events, which included objective tests, performance, and presentation categories.
This year’s contingency of students included the team of Natalie Bartek, Andrea Acuna, and Chase Muniz who competed in Community Service; Natalie Bartek and Paysee Crow in Social Media Marketing; Andrea Acuna and Bryce Gerber in Digital Media; and the freshman team of Michelina Arrigo, an IMC major, and Jessica Sanchez, a Psychology major, who won 1st place in the nation in Website Design. The following students competed in individual events and included Phylicity Knowles and Haley Leavines in Cybersecurity; Katy-Rose Hill in Networking Concepts and Sales Presentation; Alexander Angell in Program Management; and Stephen Hopkins who won 6th place in the nation in Future Business Executive.
Webber International University and Dr. Muniz are proud of this year’s group of students who proudly represented the university and the State of Florida at their FBLA Collegiate NLC. As noted by Dr. Muniz, “This year’s students were a diverse group from a mix of majors across the University, which supports FBLA’s belief that business leaders are not only limited to business disciplines, but anyone who is working towards service, education, and progress in their academic journey.”
About Webber International University
Established in 1927 by Roger Babson as the first college chartered under Florida’s then new charitable and educational laws, and America’s second school of business for women, Webber’s campuses in Babson Park, FL (residential); Charleston, SC; Charlotte, NC; Columbia, SC; Laurinburg, NC (residential); and Pinehurst, NC now educate men and women from over 50 different nations. Degrees are offered at the associates, bachelors, and masters level through traditional day, accelerated night and weekend, and entirely on-line formats. Joining Webber as a branch campus in 2011, St. Andrews University is an historically Presbyterian, comprehensive liberal arts school tracing its roots back to 1896. The University features highly qualified faculty, highly engaged staff, small class size, and a wide array of intercollegiate sports and other extracurricular activities. The University has been recognized as a US News and World Reports Best Regional Colleges: South, a Princeton Review Best Southeastern College, has earned Petersons’ top marks for academics, value and community, and has been designated a Military Friendly School. The University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, and numerous programs have earned additional programmatic accreditations.